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Touted as a five-year, $55.5 million contract, the deal signed last week by tackle Matt Kalil in Carolina is actually a one-year contract with a chance for Kalil to unlock the balance in 2018. Per a source with knowledge of the deal, the Panthers have to decide between the first and fifth day of the 2018 league year whether to exercise a $10 million option bonus for 2021, with a $10 million non-exercise fee for 2018. The only way to avoid the option bonus or the fee is to cut him or trade him before the deadline for exercising the option.

For now, the deal pays out $13 million for one year, with a $1 million guarantee in 2018 that surely is subject to offset. While that’s a lot to pay Kalil for one season, it gives the Panthers a clear out in the event that, after paying $13 million in 2017, they decide not to give him another $11 million in 2018. The incentive to do so comes from a more affordable $7 million salary in 2019. Also, salaries of $10 million in 2020 and $10.5 million in 2021 may seem to be a lot less daunting if the salary cap keeps going up $10 million or more per year.